Court: Alleged sex abuse victim upset by 'lack of support'

A WOMAN who says she was sexually abused by an older man when she was a schoolgirl told two former partners and a relative about the abuse, a court has heard.

Martin Puddifoot (80), of The Greenways, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, is on trial at Sheffield Crown Court accused of nine counts of indecent assault and three counts of indecency with a child aged between ten and 13.

Some of the acts are said to have taken place in Rawmarsh and others in Leamington Spa.

All of the acts are said to have been committed between 1992 and 1995, when Puddifoot would have been in his fifties. He denies all the charges.

The complainant's ex-husband said in a statement read out in court that his former partner had told him she had been abused by Puddifoot and he had touched her from a young age.

The ex-husband said he had told his wife he would confront Puddifoot, but she had begged him not to.

A second ex-partner said in a statement that the complainant had told him she had been abused by Puddifoot as a young girl.

He said: “She seemed more upset that her parents did not believe her and by the lack of support.

“She did not go into more detail about the subject.”

A relative of the complainant said in a statement that the alleged victim had told her Puddifoot had touched her breasts when she was a schoolgirl.

The woman said: “I didn’t know what to say or do.

“I was still young myself. I never mentioned it to anyone.”

The trial continues.